Public & Private; An American Tragedy

By ANNA QUINDLEN

Published: October 12, 1991

He said that if I ever told anyone of his behavior, that it would ruin his career.

And he was right.

The members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sat in silence yesterday as their chairman led an obviously intelligent and thoughtful female professor of law through the first discussion of genitalia in the history of the Supreme Court confirmation process. The event was by turns seamy, surreal and stunning, and was carried on all major networks in its entirety. It was the first time I have ever switched off the TV during a Senate hearing because my children had entered the room.

It was all there under the lights, as she told it, a case study of sexual harassment: the repeated requests for dates, the dirty comments, the fear of reprisals or firing, the repression. "Thomas told me graphically of his own sexual prowess," said Anita Hill. I knew what she had felt, what she was afraid she would feel if she testified, because I could feel it too. I felt soiled by the time they broke for lunch.

With her elderly parents, both farmers, sitting behind her, Professor Hill talked of working for Judge Thomas a decade ago, and of how he asked her out repeatedly and repeatedly discussed hard-core pornography. "His conversations were very vivid," she said. She recounted an incident in which her then-boss discussed porno featuring a man with a large penis. Senator Biden asked gingerly if she could remember the name of the fictional character.

"Long Dong Silver," Professor Hill said, and at that moment the career of Clarence Thomas turned to ashes.

An American tragedy was on television yesterday. There was plenty of blame to be spread around. The Judiciary Committee has borne a great resemblance to the little car at the circus filled with clowns. You could not help wondering whether, if they had acted differently, we might have all been spared some part of this, the people of this country, and Anita Hill, and Clarence Thomas, too.

The President is also to blame. A politician whose sole principle is pragmatism, he told the American people that he had chosen the most qualified man for the job, which was not true. He picked a man whose judicial experience was so meager, whose confirmation hearing testimony was so devoid of substance, that he could be confirmed only on his character: Clarence Thomas, self-made man.

But Anita Hill spoke of the Clarence Thomas who made her life ugly, dirty, disgusting, who warned her in parting that she had the power to ruin his career. The committee members pressed her to be more graphic, but she went so far, and then no farther. What a great relief that was, those moments when she compressed her lips and called a halt.

I suppose I should take note of the positive effect of this on the national consciousness. We have learned so much about sexual harassment in so short a time that Peter Jennings felt compelled to confide on air that the men in his office had gotten an education in the last few days.

But yesterday was no time to stand up and cheer. Two human beings, both well-spoken and handsome, both Horatio Alger stories, were forced to put their dignity and veracity on the line. Clarence Thomas made a powerful speech in which he called the confirmation process "Kafkaesque" and added, "No job is worth what I've been through." A half dozen times during his remarks he sounded as though he was going to remove his name from consideration.

The biggest mistake he made was in not doing so.

The good thing about writing an opinion column is that you can have an opinion, and my opinion is that Anita Hill is a credible witness and that Clarence Thomas is unfit to sit on the Supreme Court. I do not believe he is good enough. The Senate should have rejected him for that reason alone.

If they reject him now history will record that he was rejected because he insisted on talking to his assistant about group and oral sex, large penises and large breasts. And it will record that he took our self-portrait as a society with him. Anita Hill told us yesterday that sometimes women go to work in fear that they will have to listen to filth as part of their duties, that they put up with it because they need the pay or the recommendation, that their bosses may be among the most powerful and respected men in the country. She spoke calmly. She testified persuasively. It was a horrible thing to watch.